Blockbuster released it was entering a new era when Netflix, a little upstart that sent DVDs through the mail to viewers started to chisel away at their market share. Slowly but surely Blockbuster decided it needed to change and launched a similar DVD by mail service. It failed miserably (from a financial standpoint). Then someone had a genius idea. Why not allow people to return their mail dvd's at a store for a free rental? Wow. Now that was revolutionary. I signed up as did thousands of others. For $17.99 a month you received three DVD's at a time and could take those DVD's to any store and trade them for new DVD's. Yes! Perhaps two or three months ago I received an email from Blockbuster informing me that this service known as Total Access would be increasing in cost from $17.99 to $24.99. Okay, I can swing that - I mean this is my main entertainment expenditure on a monthly basis. But then tonight came the kicker. I received an email that informed me that, "To continue to bring you the unmatched convenience of both online and in-store DVD rentals, your monthly subscription fee will change from $24.99 to $34.99." Well, now, hold on there just a second. Thats an awfully large price jump. So, I went and joined Netflix. Now I can get three at a time and download thousands of movies and tv shows for $16.99/mo. Blockbuster just signed their own death wish.

    It was perhaps two months ago that I joined Mint. Mint is an online financial application. You give it credentials to your accounts (credit cards, checking, savings) and it then pulls in information about payments, credits, and due dates. It analyzes and categorizes all this data for you - providing you notifications when your balance increases, when a payment is coming due, and if you are spending more this month on any given area than historically. You can view all sorts of fun pie charts and bar graphs and drill into these graphs and charts for further details.

    Mint currently works with over 3,500 financial institutions, and its still only in beta. Unfortunately, certain companies have not taken the opportunity to integrate with Mint and I think this shows a lack of forward momentum in the technology arena. This is definitively true of 1st Financial Bank USA, whose website is still stuck in the middle ages. I made them aware of the issue and they informed me that if their customers showed enough interest they would add a more comprehensive online dashboard. Too late, I've left. Even if it wasn't for Mint, I was still marginalizing 1st Financial because their dashboard was so bad (it doesn't allow you to see historical transactions, it charges you to make an online payment).

    Citizens Bank is much more forward thinking in their outlook and I actually like them a lot and have been using them for a number of years (and was a Commerce Bank customer before Citizens Bank acquired them - anyways I think it was Commerce). They started to lose my business however when they continued to play low interest rates even when other traditional brick and mortar banks where raising their rates. Eventually I moved almost entirely to ING Direct where I get somewhere around 4% on both savings and checking balances. Compared to the sub 1% rates most banks have traditionally offered, this is great. But the final nail in the coffin is that Citizens Bank again doesn't support integration with Mint and I simply have to have it now. I want to be on top of my finances and the companies I have had relationships with for a long time and even treat me well (1st Financial gives a flat 2% cash back on every purchase) have to understand that understanding and maintaining my finances is worth a whole heck of a lot more than either of those.

    So, this is my humble attempt to garner the eyeballs of these two financial institutions and shout out, "Hey! Wake up! Its time to move or shrink." There ya go. And for those who haven't already, go join Mint. 

P.S. Citizens & 1st Financial - I'm not closing my accounts with you yet. You are too deeply entrenched in my financial ecosystem. But don't become haughty with the thought, I am rapidly moving everything possible off your systems. If you wait too much longer I will have no reason to come back...Once you lose a customer its ten times harder to regain them.

P.P.S. I like using one financial institution for all my needs. I haven't found a single institution that can perform this to this point.

    There has been a major push by both Democrats and Republicans recently to pressure President George W. Bush into setting a firm timetable for the removal of troops from Iraq - either entirely or at least in their combat positions. This trend has been particularly fascinating to me. I must say, when the war first began I supported it. They had nuclear bombs, were associated with terrorists, etc. etc. Then that all turned out to be a load of pooh (and no, I don't mean the cartoon one). I was upset, betrayed. I am still angry that this happened and ask, "How is this possible?" But, we unseated a country and we could not simply leave without helping them rebuild. So, that is what we have been doing. Do I still support the war? I do. Why do I support the war? Because of the brave Iraqi men and women who every day risk their lives to establish their country. While I hear nothing but complaints from everyone about the Iraqi government and military, I (perhaps out of naivety) see them as heros - daily endangering their own and their families lives for a cause they believe in - a stable Iraq.

     Do I agree with the President's strategies for winning the war? I am not in a position to analyze. I do not have the time or access to understand what is occurring on the ground over there, what secret knowledge resides inside of the CIA, or to discuss with residents of the country as well as our soldiers what is occurring there. What I do know is that history teaches me to be highly skeptical of Congressional calls for withdrawal.

    I'm not a humongous Civil War buff like I used to be, but that knowledge still rolls around in my brain and I can't help but think of the American Civil War. A war that was to end in weeks or months, but instead drolled on for years. Abraham Lincoln, the President, was harshly criticized for his leadership throughout many parts of the war as his generals repeatedly lost battles to Robert E. Lee's forces (amongst others). The death toll was in the hundreds of thousands, and who knows how many wounded. In fact, it was becoming extremely likely that a peace party would be elected and settle with the Confederacy. George B. McClellan, one of Lincoln's better Generals was the Presidential candidate for this party. Let's not to forget to throw in there Lincoln's oppression of civil liberties - suspending habeus corpus and proactively arresting numerous politicians and others in border states whom he believed might oppose his cause and lead a state to secession.

   Then it all changed. At Gettysburg, in 1863. A turning point in the war.

   I don't want to get into arguments about the Civil War - who was right or wrong. But simply to note that Lincoln did what it took to win the war in spite of ferocious opposition and incompetence amongst his military commanders. He faced many of the same sorts of challenges President Bush faces in this war - and yet, in the end, no one looks back with a critical eye on Abraham Lincoln (hyperbole). Will Bush's legacy be the same? Only time can bear out, and I do not know that Bush knows any better whether it will be so than Lincoln did, nor can one know. War can be won and lost on the turn of a dime.
 

Disclaimer: This How To is based on my personal experience. My suggestions may not always be the best route for all individuals, but I have attempted to give a reasonable method for purchasing a vehicle.

   Buying a car is a big investment. Charity and I have owned four cars - two of which we have till this day. Our first car was a 1993 Toyota Corolla that we paid $1,300 for. It died on the side of the road when I forgot to put the oil cap back on and the oil low light failed to turn on. Our second car was given to us and was a Suzuki Samurai, basically a tin box on wheels. When I was hired by Collages.Net I required a more dependable vehicle (and the Samurai's drive chassis was about to fall out) so we went to Stockburger Chevrolet and purchased a 2005 Chevy Aveo (brand new). For the next two years Charity and I shared this vehicle, but then just a little over a month ago we went car shopping again and purchased a 2001 Ford Escape for her from Discount Auto. Through these experiences I have learned a lot about cars and how to buy cars, especially as someone who doesn't know much about cars. My dad is an auto mechanic and always took care of the automobiles, so even common items that many know how to do, I don't have experience with. These days my time is too valuable to repair my car when I can hire someone else to do it, so I still have only minimal knowledge. Anyways, point is - I want to share with you what my experiences have taught me about purchasing a car.

Note: This How To is aimed at those who purchase cars for practical reasons rather than luxury vehicles. While you may learn some things from this How To if you are buying a luxury car it is much more aimed at the average vehicle consumer.

1. Go Browsing - Make a day of it and go car shopping. This is a big investment and is worth several hours of just browsing. Look at different vehicles from different companies (e.g. Ford, Honda, Toyota, Chevrolet). Bring along a pad of paper and a pen. Write down the year, make (e.g. Ford or Toyota), and model (e.g. Escape or Corolla), the sticker price on the car, the miles-per-gallon. Go to different dealerships as well, this allows you to get competitive pricing.
2. Don't Buy! - While you are browsing you are not buying. Depending on the dealer you may receive some pretty high pressure offers. "I can only make you this offer today..." "These cars are selling like hotcakes..." It doesn't matter how good the deal seems, you shouldn't buy on your first day. Give yourself some emotional time to cool off.
3. Visit Kelley's Blue Book - Whether you are buying a vehicle new or used Kelley's Blue Book can give you an idea of the value of the cars you are interested in. Its free and can even refine the price based on your location. This will give you a good idea of what you should expect to pay for the vehicle.
4. Register for the Consumer Reports Web Site  - Consumer Reports is a non-profit organization that gives reviews on a wide variety of products. A years subscription to the website is around $25. They offer a list of best/worst cars as far as maintenance goes.
5. Register for the Consumer Report's New Car Buying Kit - If you are purchasing a new car you'll want Consumer Report's New Car Buying Kit. This kit allows you to see how much the dealer paid for the vehicle. This allows you to make informed decisions on what to offer the dealer. Your objective is not to rip the dealer off, but to ensure you are paying a fair markup on the vehicle. This service costs $40 for three months unlimited access or if you know the car you want you can use their single instance service for $14 to get pricing for just one car.
6. Review Information - Now you have a list of cars, you've looked at Kelley's Blue Book to see their values, on the Consumer Reports website to see whether they are a good car or not, and to find out how much the dealer probably paid for the car if it is new. Using this information you can eliminate cars which have bad reviews or that are out of your price range.
7. Determine Financing - Most dealerships offer financing, and oftentimes this financing is pretty competitive. Ensure that your financing through them doesn't include pre-payment penalties if you utilize their bank. That way you can always refinance later if you are able to gain a lower rate. For older vehicles you may want to take out a home equity loan as the older the vehicle the higher the interest rate the bank is going to charge. Use a site such as LowerMyBills to get competitive quotes on what is a reasonable rate/payment for your car loan.
8. Go Back to Buy - Its time to buy. Go back to the dealership and make an offer. It is likely that they will balk at your initial offer if you go low enough (remember, leave some margin, you want to be reasonable - not tick them off). If they won't negotiate to a price you are happy with, leave. Have second and third choices and negotiate based on these vehicles. If you are willing to leave a vehicle, they oftentimes will negotiate. I have seen "impossible" deals occur when I said, "Okay. I can't afford that, I have to go elsewhere." You and the dealer have a common interest - he wants to sell a car and you want to buy one. You'll both have to be willing to compromise to come to an arrangement.
9. Be Willing to Walk Away - I know I just said this, but it deserves re-emphasis. Never get yourself into a situation where you must buy this car, where you have no other options. You want to be able to walk away. A dealer is willing to give you a lower price (within reason) to close a deal.

Additional Steps for New Cars:
1. If it is a new car, I recommend purchasing a warranty. For example, for under $1,000 I received a five year comprehensive warranty on my Chevrolet Aveo.

Additional Steps for Used Cars:
1. Instead of purchasing a warranty on a used car consider putting the money in a savings account. Use it as-needed to repair the car. Balance out the cost of the warranty and what is covers with the cost of repair of one of the major covered parts. If possible, talk to your mechanic before purchasing (usually you can purchase the warranty within 30 days after purchasing the vehicle).
2. If purchasing from a dealership look for a 30 day money back guarantee.
3. If at all possible, take the car to your mechanic (preferably a mechanic you know and trust) and ask them to do a full inspection. It will cost $50-$100 but could save you a lot of heartache. Ask what, if anything needs to be replaced.
4. Be wary of purchases where either an individual or dealership won't let you take it in to a mechanic before purchasing or give you a thirty day money-back guarantee.

Closing Thoughts on Etiquette:
    Despite all the jokes, dealers are real humans too - and there are good ones and bad ones. Most dealers receive their pay on a commission of the profit from the vehicle, so they are going to want to make the price as high as possible. Of course, many have a nobility which causes them to give reasonable prices, but others will make the highest possible markup. This is why it is good to know the real price of the vehicle through research before making an offer. If you pitch too low the dealer may (rightfully) feel you are attempting to take advantage of them and refuse to budge on price. On the other hand, if you simply accept the first offer they make you will almost certainly be paying thousands (on a new vehicle) and hundreds (on a used vehicle - possibly thousands) on a used vehicle.
     Don't treat a dealer like a dirtbag. They are doing their jobs and have to put food on the table as well. Both dealer and consumer must seek a happy medium - something that allows the dealer to continue living while not robbing the consumer. Using the resources in this article you should be able to find that happy medium with any reasonable dealer.

 On July 3rd, 2007 when the day was done and gone my closing count on Google Adsense was $10.16. Its the first day I've broken $10 - in fact, on most days I was celebrating breaking $5. I've started a new website called The Network Engineer and this one has been attracting decent traffic and significant cash flow. Woohoo!

    The web may once again truly democraticize the election process in the United States and diversify who can and cannot be a political candidate. Wired has an excellent article on Ron Paul, a congressman from Texas who has attracted significant attention because of the efforts of his supporters online. While I don't agree with all of the methods that Ron Paul supporters are using to further his campaign, I do think the efforts overall indicate that politics will be moving out of the "who has the most money" stage in the near future.

    It is time for me to conclude my review of Tosca Lee's Demon a memoir. For those interested you can read the first two portions of this mini-review here and here. You can visit the books official website here.

    Tonight I read perhaps a dozen chapters. I had been trying to keep myself to only one to three chapters a day - preferably one at a time, but tonight I had to finish it. Not only because I desired to know how the story ended, but also because I was eager to write this review and begin lending out my book to anyone who would read it. I was not disappointed and I have given Tosca Lee's rating a near-perfect review. Amongst literary writers I would compare her most closely to C.S. Lewis, especially in his The Great Divorce (I read The Screwtape Letters as a pre-teen and have not had the opportunity to re-read them, at the time they seemed dry and boring, so I will not compare Demon to that). She ranks with most certainly alongside of some of our most accomplished and popular Christian writers - e.g. Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, Randy Alcorn.

Salient Features:

• Story: So many Christian products are repackaged secular products (this is especially true in the music and film industries). Lee separates herself as an original and innovative writer who provides a gripping story. She also manages to avoid the pitfall of Christian art. Creating a work which forgets that it is art by becoming so enamored with powerfully portraying the gospel, to the abandonment of its method. Lee skillfully balances these two - ensuring that truth is clearly demonstrated while at the same time raising the bar for Christian fiction artistically. Her story is fascinating and engrossing.
• Grammar, Structure: In both its vocabulary and style Demon manages to be a piece of art. Where many Christian volumes fall into redundancy and formulaic expressions she manages to skillfully weave a masterpiece.
• Theology: One could read her volume not only has fiction but also as commentary. The depth of expression and insight is breathtaking. Yet at the end she humbly writes in an "Author's Note", "...despite my research, I have never come to the point that I feel I completely understand the implications of God's relationship with spiritual beings or the nuances of passages like Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14. I chose the interpretations I did for the sense they make to me and also for their storytelling merit. I encourage you to pass my approach through the sieve of your own discernment and to use it as a springboard for your own investigation." (pg. 320)
• Un-Answered Questions: Tosca does not attempt to answer every question raised and while oftentimes suggesting what she feels is the answer, allows the reader to continue to wrestle with the unanswerable questions. This may be considered frustrating, but it is excellent in refusing to provide the pat answers we so often desire.
  

    This is the second part of a series of mini-reviews, in which I am revealing my thoughts on Tosca Lee's new book, Demon, a memoir. You can read the first part here.

    I am now on page 146 of 322, this compared to perhaps page 60 the last time I wrote. I find the novel fascinating and am continually picking it up throughout the day - whenever I am at home. I am attempting to pace myself, to force myself to enjoy it like a sweet chocolate rather than gulping it all down in one large bite and feeling as if I had just gorged myself - missing out on the flavor and depth.

    I must say, I have been extremely impressed with the book thus far. It is not a cliff-hanger. Each chapter doesn't end forcing you to read the next (as say, Frank Peretti, Ted Dekker, Dan Brown, etc.) - but there is this overall pushing forward which keeps you reading. There is this continuous thread slowly being unraveled about we learn about Clay and his demonic friend, Lucian. Tosca slowly, tantalizingly reveals to us the truth - and it is both delightful and painful. Tonight I seriously contemplated jumping to the end of the novel, to find out what secrets she has hidden - but I doubt that the novel will end with a summary conclusion, rather it is spread throughout - each chapter revealing more secrets.

    Besides writing a compelling novel she has written a novel well-founded. It is based upon firm biblical interpretations, though not necessarily always ones I would agree with. While binding herself to the text of Scripture thus far she has also loosed herself from it. She walks a balanced road - painting broad strokes around the Scripture's fundamental story while not undermining the story.

    Finally, I would note that her writing skill is immaculate. I do not know whether she sat with a dictionary as she typed up each page but the variety and depth of her vocabulary is astonishing. Each page flows with details and grandeur - yet not so much so as to become academic and dry.

    So, halfway through the novel how do I feel about it? I feel that it is amazing. No, its not your average thriller and it doesn't force you to stay up nights - but it does draw you back daily and leaves you with a deep satisfaction upon the completion of every chapter.
 

This is a sponsored post for the Online Discount Mart. I will be paid $10.00 for making this post. You can make money for blogging as well by joining PayPerPost. Click on the graphic images for PayPerPost above.

    I'm not a big one for garden or home decor. I'm more practically minded, but I stumbled across this site on the Online Discount Mart which is actually pretty nice and has some decent products. More decorative than practical, they still could make a nice touch if arranged in a non-overwhelming manner.

    There are several Bamboo Ducks which look beautiful, though a bit expensive at $24.95. Many of the items might be interesting to look at - but far too expensive. For example, the Laying Down Bronze Goblin ($799.95).

    There are floating solar lights for small ponds or streams which look interesting, but probably more beautiful at a distance than up close. In my younger days I would have been all over the Deluxe Civil War Chess Set. They also have a collection of fountains and Bird Baths.

    So, if you are looking for some peaceful images, and perhaps a gift for mom or grandma, this might not be a bad site to browse by. 

 This is a sponsored post for the Online Discount Mart. I will be paid $10.00 for making this post. You can make money for blogging as well by joining PayPerPost. Click on the graphic images for PayPerPost above.

    It seems like businesses are willing to do just about anything to attract more customers. Interest rates on savings accounts have been skyrocketing - no longer do you have to pay for checking accounts - they're free and also bear interest. Loan rates are competitive and offers of $100 in cash or gift cards are commonly offered as an incentive for joining their business. With all this attention on the consumers, I'd like to announce to banks how to win my business. Its pretty simple actually. I don't want to work with ten different companies to have my complete financial solution - rather I want one company that offers:

• Free Interest Bearing Checking Account. This account will need to be competitive with other checking accounts such as ING Direct's which offers 4.5% interest. It would also need to offer advanced online payment capabilities.
  
• Free Interesting Bearing Savings Account. This account would also need to offer comparable rates to ING Direct and other similar companies. It should be quickly transferable into the checking account.
• Cash-Back Credit Card. The credit card should offer 2% cash back - instantaneously, no ifs about it. This would be similar to the 1st Financial Bank USA Visa. It should also offer infinite transaction tracking. No forgetting what I purchased after a year or two.
• Management Functions. Preferably a software application or at least exportable to a common format - e.g. XML, ODF, CSV. This would allow me to rapidly sort and organize my transactions across all accounts.
• Mortgage/Line of Credit Loans. Competitive, no hassle loans. Good interest rates, low fees.
  

 This is a sponsored post for IBackup. I will receive $10.00 for writing this post. If you would like to be paid to blog as well, click on the PayPerPost image above.

    IBackup  is an online backup service. Online backup services have been revolutionizing the way individuals and companies perform backups over the last several years. Before we look at IBackup let's discuss the way backups have traditionally worked.

    For consumers backups have oftentimes been non-existent. For other users they have been haphazardly created on any of a number of bulky and oftentimes unreliable media such as floppy disks, flash drives, external hard drives, or cds.

    For commercial organizations backups have long been made onto tape. Tape had the ability to hold lots of data, to write it quickly and to be more reliable than most available mediums while maintaining a low price point. In recent years, however, another method of backup has become popular - known as Disk 2 Disk backup. Because of some disadvantages with tape backup (e.g. linear only reading - think of trying to skip ahead in a scroll as opposed to a paperback) it became advantageous to backup to disk, where the cost was lower. Still, this left one vulnerable to disaster scenarios in which the entire location was lost, thus many companies still backup to tape - after backing up to disk. This allows them to have the best of both worlds.

    Online backup is essentially Disk to Disk but it provides in one step the efficiency and disaster recovery of a disk to disk to tape scenario. The files are backed up to disk (so they can be accessed on-demand in a random sequence) and they are off-site (thus preventing them from being destroyed if the company location is destroyed).

    So, now that we understand a little bit about the different forms of backup, lets talk about what makes IBackup distinctive. Right now the online backup arena has become quite crowded. I haven't personally used IBackup yet, but I intend to within the next week or so. Previously I was using Mozy Pro, one of their main competitors.

    IBackup seems like it is a good choice because it offers competitive pricing ($9.95 for 5 GB), incremental backups (only the parts of your file that change are backed up), and versioning (allows you to restore from multiple versions of your file from the past). But the features that really make IBackup standout amongst Online Backup providers is their enterprise level featureset, a featureset of which I am not aware of any competitor.

    Besides offering standard backups for regular files they also offer online backups of SQL Server, Exchange Server, and Oracle Server. Each of these products is generally required to be online 24/7/365 and its data is constantly changing. This makes it difficult to backup. Using advanced technologies that have only become available in recent years IBackup is able to perform these backups even though the server is still online. Many other standard backup software companies offer these features - but they are "do-it-yourself" in-house companies where you install the software on your server and maintain it. This is much more overhead for IT Staff and may end up having a bad ROI for the company once all the labor and equipment is figured into the equation.

    IBackup looks extremely promising and I am looking forward to what the future will bring for them. While the speed of the internet (while fast, still slow) and costs will prevent companies with humongous amounts of data from utilizing IBackup, for the individual, small or medium business IBackup may just be the solution you are looking for. 

 This is a sponsored post for IBackup. I will receive $10.00 for writing this post. If you would like to be paid to blog as well, click on the PayPerPost image above.

    As a child I collected insects. Living in [name of apartment complex] I battled insects. Charity and I purchased a house a year ago and our insect problems diminished. But that isn't to say there still isn't a battle to be fought. Thus far it was a matter of skirmishes, not full-fledged war.

    Last summer I got onto the roof of our shed to patch a hole. I was attacked. I could handle the first few hundred ants, but eventually it was a loosing battle. If I fixed the roof I was bitten, if I fought the ants the roof went unfixed. Eventually I went to a local store and bought Terro. This is a sweet solution that ants eat, take back to their nest and then die. The other ants each these ants and in turn die. It worked beautifully.

    We still have the occasional spider or ant attack. See our house is surrounded by woods (we live in suburbia, but our road seems more fitting for a country town) and all manner of creeping creatures live therein. There are the squirrels that attack our trash (I just bought locking lid trash cans) and taunt our cats. There were the three mice (which ended up dead within three days by the hands of our cats). But the more numerous are the ants. They are everywhere. We have successfully used Terro to battle them back and before we even bought the house we had to have it treated for carpenter ants (there was some minor front sill damage). Charity successfully combatted two more invasions with Terro.

    I still did not recognize that the ants and other creeping beings would not relegate themselves to these skirmishes but wanted to declare a full out war. Today I went into our crawl space. If there is one portion of our house that I don't particularly like and which I have not fully explored - it is the crawl space. We don't have a full basement, just this cement crawl space (which is better than a field stone one).

    I crawled in. I turned on a light. I saw the hordes. Everywhere I turned the spiders were there. Of all shapes and sizes. I am generally not afraid of spiders. Charity is. When she sees a spider she calls for me and I kill it. In fact, my first response was to go to battle. I grabbed our vacuum and began to suck them up. But then the vacuum died. That was okay. I had realized I was surrounded. Unable to resist. I was ready to retreat. For every spider I sucked up there were ten more to replace it and they were creeping around me on every side. I couldn't watch every direction nor did I have the room within the crawl space to navigate. My head was continually bumping the insulated ceiling - which in turn was infested with spiders. I scrambled out and grabbed the keys to our Aveo and drove off to Penndel Hardware.

    I got there not a moment too soon. The store was about to close, but the owner so kindly let me in - one of the benefits of those mom and pop owned stores. I grabbed a several large containers of insecticide - ensuring they stated that they dealt with spiders - shelled out my $35 and headed back to the house. $25 of this had gone to purchase a Bayer Advanced PowerForce Carpent Ants & Termite Killer. It felt like I was a real exterminator. It even had a battery power squirt gun that drained the deadly insecticides from the large canister and pour it forth onto the ground. I circled the house - touching every spot I could, even doing the back yard. I sprayed wildly under the deck and into the entrance to our crawl space. I was still licking my emotional wounds from my last entrance into there - I wasn't ready to journey back in yet again. Now its time to wait. Give it a week and see what happened.

 "And as Lucian had aptly observed, I had never needed religion to be a good person; my father had brought that out in me on his own. Never a perfect man, his temper would lay dormant for weeks at a time, waiting to erupt at the first sign of any misdeed or bad grade. Silence was a good sign, no news always the good kind. With an upbringing like that, there had been no need for God." - Clay, Chapter 3, page 33.

    Today I received a small package in the mail. What was this? I hadn't remembered ordering anything off Half.Com recently. I busted it open. Ohh, it was Demon a memoir by Tosca Lee. I had seen the book in a Crosswalk review and decided that I would like to get my hands on it. Amazingly, Tosca happened upon my "wish list" and offered to send me a complimentary copy. So here it was. While I hadn't asked, I was happy to see she had taken a moment to sign it. Since running several websites on the internet over the years I have accumulated quite the small stash of items from various authors, publishers, etc., but few that I have looked forward to so eagerly.

   Tonight was a youth event, so I didn't have much time but I sat down and began to read. I was happy to see it was published by NavPress, a Christian publisher I trust. The first chapter read smoothly enough, but started more slowly than most. Many novels these days begin with a cliff hanger seeking to immediately draw their readers in. Tosca avoids this traditional formula - perhaps to her monetary detriment, but not to the detriment of her story-telling. Rather she slowly picks up pace - revealing layers of mystery and pain.

   The story of Demon a memoir is a twin tale. First of Clay, a man who has lost everything when his wife Aubrey divorces him, and of the demon that desires to have his story told by Clay to the world. Such a premise is fascinating. Humans are always drawn to the unknown - that is why genres such as sci-fi and fantasy attract us and why we are so driven to scientific discovery.

   Thus far Tosca has managed to powerfully portray the surroundings, individuals, and storyline. The story reads with great detail but not so much (that like Dostoevsky) it becomes overwhelming and brings the storyline to a painful halt (though I still like Dostoevsky). I have begun to feel the pain that Clay is experiencing over his wife's betrayal. The anguish is almost palpable. At the same time I am drawn to the story of the demon, Lucian. Tosca is building up camaderie and sympathy with the demon. The demon seems honorable, humble, and earnest. What story does he have to tell? Is God really the bad guy in this cosmic war? Tosca gives no hints as to her plans, though the publisher and some of the recommendations give away where the story is headed.

   The real question now is, which I cannot answer until I have pierced more deeply into the novel, will Tosca be able to offer insight into the demonic nature? Will she be able to maintain the tension of the storyline? Or will Tosca's novel become just another plodding example of Christian apologetics roughly pressed into the mold of entertainment? If so, I am sure she will find her place on my list (not a good place) amongst Unidentified, The Moment After 2: The Awakening, and Left Behind. But here's hoping...
 

    There is one guaranteed way to lose my vote in the upcoming elections. There are many other issues that I will waiver on, compromise on, but I join with Rev. John Piper when I state - the support of abortion by a candidate excludes them for me as a potential option, just as if they supported the murder of children or adults for any specific reason. Here are a number of quotes (pulled from a Focus on the Family newsletter) from several prominent politicians revolting against the forbiddance of partial-birth abortion by the Supreme Court.
    Partial-birth abortion occurs when a mother carries her child to full term and as the baby is coming out of the mother, sharp devices are used to cut into the child's neck, enter the brain, and swish around its brain until the child is dead.
    It is worth noting that while I have traditionally been more conservative in my political views, I am by no means a "die-hard" Republican and will seriously consider endorsing a Democratic or Independent candidate in the upcoming elections. The fact that most of these politicians are Democrats does not indicate a bias in me against Democratic candidates (though I did have such a bias in the past) but rather that this party has as a whole endorse this sort of execution of children.
    These quotes are in support of partial-birth abortion:

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.)
"This decision marks a dramatic departure from four decades of Supreme Court rulings that upheld a woman's right to choose and recognized the importance of women's health. Today's decision blatantly defies the Court's recent decision in 2000 striking down a state partial-birth abortion law because of its failure to provide an exception for the health of the mother. As the Supreme Court recognized in Roe v. Wade in 1973, this issue is complex and highly personal; the rights and lives of women must be taken into account. It is precisely this erosion of our constitutional rights that I warned against when I opposed the nominations of Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito."⁵

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.)
"I strongly disagree with today's Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women. As Justice Ginsburg emphasized in her dissenting opinion, this ruling signals an alarming willingness on the part of the conservative majority to disregard its prior rulings respecting a woman's medical concerns and the very personal decisions between a doctor and patient. I am extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman's right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women."⁶

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.)
"I could not disagree more strongly with today's Supreme Court decision. The ban upheld by the Court is an ill-considered and sweeping prohibition that does not even take account for serious threats to the health of individual women. This hard right turn is a stark reminder of why Democrats cannot afford to lose the 2008 election. Too much is at stake—starting with, as the Court made all too clear today, a woman's right to choose."⁷

     Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Republican Presidential Candidate Rudolph Giuliani's positions on this matter seem to change with time, or at least to be less clear than desirable.